1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to coupler for mounting vibration dampers to an archery bow and particularly to mounting vibration dampers to limbs of an archery bow.
2. Prior Art
It is inherent in the operation of an archery bow that when the arrow is launched from the bow, a substantial amount of vibration is generated. This is apparent in both traditional bows such as recurves and in compound bows, though it is more pronounced in compound bows since the amount of energy transferred is greater.
This vibration generated when an arrow is launched from the bow is undesirable for several reasons. Firstly, the vibration gives a strange feeling to the holder of the bow when the arrow is launched. Secondly and more importantly, the vibration has a deleterious effect upon the arrow flight.
Since a significant portion of this vibration is generated by the action of the limbs of the archery bow, means have been developed which mount onto the limbs themselves which absorb or reduce the amount of vibration. However, these means for absorbing the vibration from the limbs have certain disadvantages. In particular, such means are attached to the limbs by an adhesive. This adhesive is subject to failure with the result that the vibration absorbing means will be thrown off of the limb. If this should occur, this has a very deleterious effect upon the performance of the bow and may result in a broken limb. Still further, the chances of this occurring increases with limb speed. Accordingly, with the high performance bows with more and more limb and arrow speed, it is more likely that such vibration absorbing means will fail.
Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to provide a means for overcoming the disadvantages of the prior art.
In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide a coupler which easily and economically allows for a strong mechanical connection to be made between the vibration damper and the limb of the archery bow.
In keeping with the principles of the present invention, the objects are accomplished by providing a unique coupler for mounting the vibration damper to the limbs of the archery bow. This coupler generally comprises a body having two sides, a means for mounting the body to the limb of the archery bow and a means for coupling the vibration damper to the body provided on the other side of the body. Typically the means for mounting the body to the limb would comprise a slot provided in the body which has a cross-sectional shape approximating the cross-sectional shape of the part of the bow which retains limb on the riser of the bow. The means for coupling the vibration damper to the body would typically comprise a threaded hole into which the vibration damper can be screwed into. Still further and for the purposes of stability of the limbs, it is preferable that the body be conical in shape with the widest portion of the conical shape engaging the limb.